Victorian lamp-posts to be removed, campaigners say

Campaigners say they are fighting to save historic Victorian lamp-posts in Canterbury which are under threat at being removed by a council.

Reform-led Kent County Council is planning to replace the structures with "generic steel poles" fitted with heritage-style embellishments, The Canterbury Society says.

Society president Ptolemy Dean said the possible replacement lamp-posts were "grotesque, misformed, and misshapen and hideous looking things".

The council says "proposed works" had not yet started, but recent safety inspections showed serious structural issues.

Many of Canterbury's original lights were built by an ironworks founded and located in the city for almost 130 years, The Canterbury Society said.

Dean said: "They give that city, and its streets, a coherence and a pride that is quite unique from any other city in England."

The original factory that made the lamp-posts has closed and the moulds for them no longer exist, the council says.

KCC added: "Recreating these moulds and manufacturing new cast iron lamp-posts, or refurbishing the existing lamp-posts, would not be the most effective use of limited maintenance budgets."

Canterbury City Council said it was working closely with KCC.

"There are lots of challenges and complications for KCC to overcome, including the cost of replacement or repair," it said.

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